Let’s face it, most sales advice out there is just rehashed fluff. But there are a few under-the-radar pros who’ve been quietly changing the game.

That’s why I took a minute to put together this list of my favorite under-the-radar sales resources.  These are the writers, trainers, and salespeople whose sage advice will actually help you close more deals.

Enjoy!

Frank Betttger

I read Bettger’s book, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling, several years ago and really enjoyed it.  His chapter all about the 6:00 am club stuck with me more than anything.

It’s old school selling, but it’s an easy read with plenty of gems you can apply to your life and career today. Add this one to your library.

Tom Schreiter

For years, Tom “Big Al” Schreiter has been a legend in the network marketing field.  His brand of low-key, no-pressure sales techniques have probably generated millions — if not billions — of dollars for the industry.

His techniques are so good because they make the process of selling accessible to people with little or no sales experience.

Yes, they are written exclusively for network marketers, and yes, they may sound a little simplistic, but don’t sleep on them.  Most likely you’ll uncover a golden nugget or two that will make you money over and over again.

Start with the Closing book and go from there.  His books on the four different color personalities are also very much worth the read.

Jay Abraham

Like Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham is one of those out-of-the-box marketers who proves that life in the box will never get you where you want to go.

The great thing about Abraham is that his material will help you both as a salesperson and as a digital/direct marketing expert.

Start with his signature work, Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got, and go from there. You won’t regret it.

Joe Girard

You can bet that Girard, the man who sold over 13,000 cars (nearly six a day) from 1963-1977 didn’t sit around the dealership complaining that there were no good prospects.  He was too busy selling the pants off of everyone around him.

There are plenty of old-school ideas in his book How to Sell Anything to Anybody that can be adapted today to crush your competition and make yourself a good living in the process. He was doing some innovative stuff back in the sixties, but here’s a secret…

Very few people are doing these things now — which makes them innovative all over again.

Chris Voss

I listened to Never Split the Difference several years ago when I was on the road a lot with a sales job I had.  As soon it was done, I hit the play button and started listening to it all over again. It’s that good!

Voss’s book is full of great stories from his career as a hostage negotiator with the FBI, a job where, if you didn’t “make the sale,” people died.

He has a ton of content on Youtube, so check him out there if you haven’t already, but don’t let that be a reason not to pick up this book.  It’s very good!

David Sandler

The king of contrarian selling, Sandler didn’t like the cringey, rah-rah style of cheering, cajoling, and dragging his prospects across the finish line, so he invented a system that worked for him.

The Sandler Method is that system.

You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar is the book he wrote on the subject.  Start there and if you like it check out the course on Audible called David Sandler Live.  It’ll change the way you look at selling.

Ed Forteau

In my opinion, Ed is the best sales trainer working today.  He does the Sandler-style of selling better than Sandler himself and he’s a damned nice guy in the process.

Check out his new book, No More Cringe: How to Transform LinkedIn Outreach from Awkward to Real Impact.  It just might be the single most valuable technique a salesperson can use for prospecting on the internet.

That’s the rundown of my favorite lesser-known sales resources. With the exception, maybe, of Abraham, these aren’t flashy gurus, just solid professionals with real-world techniques that work. Pick one that interests you, give them a read, and watch your sales skills level up.

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Brent Hoodenpyle is a Texas-based digital marketing and sales specialist with over twenty years experience working with a wide range of companies to improve their digital stats and revenue.